What Exactly is a Land Trust?
Has anyone else wondered...what exactly is a land trust?!
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a non-profit organization that holds land permanently, in order to make land securely available for communities for farming, housing, ranching or preservation.
A CLT provides a solution to the massive barriers to land stewardship and secure land access, particularly for communities of color.
By holding land within our trust, we know that the next generation of farmers and land stewards will have land access, safe from developers, debt, and being priced out.
We are situated in a long legacy of Black community trusts. The first CLT in the U.S., New Communities, was established in 1969 by Black sharecroppers in Georgia to ensure access to agricultural land and economic opportunity for Black farmers.
We are continuing this spirit through BOLT!
Conservation vs Community Trusts
Conservation land trusts are non profit orgs that acquire land through purchase or donation, in order to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations.
This is often done through something called an "easement" -- a legal contract that restricts how the land can be used, such as stating that a piece of land can be used for forest preservation, but not for housing or real estate.
Someone can own property, and still have their land in a conservation trust. An individual can keep full property rights, while a trusts protects it.
A Community land trust focuses on communal land ownership and providing affordable housing and/or land access (in our case, for agricultural purposes!)
Individuals can still build equity and wealth through a community land trust by purchasing housing or infrastructure, and even improving soil quality!
BOLT is a community land trust that will permanently hold land for farmers and land stewards. Our vision is to keep housing and farm ownership costs low for Black farmers while supporting their thriving agricultural businesses.
What do you want to know about land trusts? We’re learning so much as we go!
As always, thank you for being here on the journey.